Ham radio club holds winter field day

Ham radio operators are expected to be able to perform in the event of an emergency. That usually involves serious weather.
Saturday, at the start of the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club’s annual Winter Field Day event at the North Fort Myers Community Park, the radio operators faced exactly that.
It was sunny, but bitterly cold at the start. While they were undercover at the concession stand, it was still cold while they set up their remote equipment and got ready for the 11 a.m. start.
Things warmed up, thankfully, and the evening wasn’t nearly as cold as the previous one, making for a more tolerable experience.
During Field Day, ham radio operators set up temporary antennas and radio stations to simulate the conditions of an emergency response and demonstrate the ability to establish reliable communication in less-than-ideal situations.
Carmine Vetrano, president of the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, said this event is nationwide to prepare for emergency services and also part contest.
“We want to show we still have communication from the field. We’re running without live power. We either have batteries or generators and we’re talking to people throughout the country,” Vetrano said.
Last year, these operators put in more than 1,100 hours of service to the Lee County Emergency Management services, mostly during Hurricane Milton.
“We staffed shelters with radio operators so lines of communications were available between the EOC and the shelters and also from the field,” Vetrano said. “They gave situation reports on the roads to the EOC.”
Vetrano said in the gated community where he lives, ham radio was the only communication for medical calls.
The radio operators tried to communicate with as many people in as many different areas as possible over a 24-hour period (from 11 a.m. Saturday through 11 a.m. Sunday). Some did it through voice, text, and even Morse Code.
Among the areas reached were Mexico, the Bahamas and even western Canada. In the past, operators have reached the International Space Station via satellite.
John Wells, former FMARC president, said Winter Field Day really felt like it, but that the summer field day in June is worse because of the lightning, though summer also has more participation.
He added that the bands were working well.
“The weather is better and there are no storms. Also, it involves the solar cycle, which really affects their ability to communicate,” Wells said. “They happen every 11 to 12 years when the propagation gets better because it activates the atmosphere. Sometimes we get solar storms and they affect cellular communications.”
Equipment ranges from simple handheld radios for $35 to larger setups for global communication. Many ham operators join clubs to share knowledge and participate in events.
Established in 1957, the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, Inc. has been dedicated to fostering camaraderie among individuals with a shared passion for Amateur Radio.
Over the past several years, the club has seen its membership boom. From about 150 in 2021, the club has nearly tripled in size since then.
For more information about the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, visit fmarc.net, email fieldday@fmarc.net, or Winter Field Day at winterfieldday.org.